In typical stored energy type movable barrier installations, stored energy is accumulated and then released in order to facilitate movement of the barrier between its opened and closed positions in the event of a fire or other emergency. Thus, in the case of a typical fire door, the accumulated stored energy, when released, causes the door to move from the open position to the closed position because there is not enough stored energy to overcome the effect of gravity, which therefore moves the door from the open position to the closed position. When in the closed position, the door closes off the area in which the fire is present. In the case of an emergency egress type grill, the accumulated stored energy, when released, moves the door from its closed position to the open position, in order to enable egress for those from the area in which the fire exists. However, under either circumstance, once the stored energy is released, the installation must be reset to again store the required potential energy to enable the doors or grill's respective closing or opening in the event of a subsequent emergency.
The restoration of this potential energy has typically required the use of tools, and in the case where a fire door or fire curtain is mounted above the ceiling, the removal of access panels or ceiling tiles. Such resetting has also typically required on-site visits by skilled technicians, and since fire doors must be periodically tested (i.e., closed under simulated fire conditions), this testing can become not only cumbersome, but particularly costly. It is therefore the principal purpose of this invention to avoid these and other disadvantages of existing resetting approaches.